When the Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup in 2012, radio play-by-play man Nick Nickson Jr. quipped that he had been thinking about his signature call "for 31 years."

He only had to wait two years to add another.

"Royalty reigns again in the NHL" has now joined "After 45 years, the Kings can wear their crown" in Los Angeles sports lore.

Yes, somebody up there likes Nickson, the affable Rochester native and Penfield High product, one of the best sports broadcasters in the business who got his start with the Rochester Americans in 1975-76.

"It's a fabulous time to be a Kings fan here in Southern California," said Nickson after returning home from a victory parade through downtown L.A. that drew an estimated 300,000. "I mean, 64 playoff games in three years and all the scenarios that have played out and it's still looking like they could do it a couple more times with all their core players here."

It means Nick, 60, won't be thinking of retiring anytime soon.

Toss in 101- and 98-point seasons in 2010 and 2011 and a loss in the NHL's Western Conference finals in 2013 to Chicago, the Kings have actually been on a marvelous five-year ride. Universal Studios could make an attraction out of them. In Hollywood, Rocky, Rudy and Forrest Gump are giving the thumbs up sign. That's because these Kings are a true underdog story, giving hope to chronic losers that can't chew gum and shoot straight. The Buffalo Sabres come to mind.

After advancing behind Wayne Gretzky to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993, where they lost to Montreal in five games, the Kings wandered the Mojave Desert for the next 16 seasons. In that span, they'd miss the playoffs 11 times with a lockout season tossed in. They'd go bankrupt. They'd have three sets of owners. They'd have five different head coaches.

And after venturing out the other side and dumping the sand out of their skates, they now are a two-time Stanley Cup champion. Nick Nickson has been there for all the good, bad and ugly, and is in awe of the gritty team he gets to watch on a nightly basis.

“I mean, 64 playoff games in three years and all the scenarios that have played out and it's still looking like they could do it a couple more times with all their core players here.”

Nick Nickson Jr.

In 2012, the Kings made history as a No. 8 seed, winning the Cup in just 20 games (16-4 record).

This time, it took a record 26 games (16-10 record), including a record three Game 7s wins — all on the road — to dispatch San Jose, Anaheim and the defending champion Blackhawks before beating the New York Rangers in five. When Alec Martinez popped in the winning goal in double overtime, the Kings became the first team to win in OT on home ice since the Islanders 35 years ago, stirring memories of Bob Nystrom.

"The way the team went about winning this year is 180 degrees opposite of 2012," Nickson said. "The word everyone is throwing around is 'resiliency' because of the way they kept coming back. We saw so much we had never seen before in Stanley Cup action."

Like a rally from three games down against San Jose, just the fourth team in NHL history to pull off that feat of desperation.

"Talk about giving fans their money's worth," Nickson said.

And while his pipes got a workout calling games almost every other night, Nickson's heart went out to goalie Jonathan Quick, who was between the pipes, and his teammates, led by Dustin Brown, the Kings' inspirational leader and captain from Ithaca.

"It's a grind," Nickson said. "It's the toughest trophy in sports to win. Just the level these guys are on night after night is really remarkable to see."

Nick Nickson Jr.(Photo: Provided)

As he did two years ago, Nickson called his dad, Nick Sr., at his Brighton home in the wee hours after the Kings clinched. Nick Sr., 91, had a 60-year career in Rochester radio. And just as in 2012, Nick Jr. will get a day with the Cup this summer. The first time he hosted a Stanley Cup party at a Los Angeles golf club for 200 where money was raised for charities attached to Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis, Kings scouts who died on 9/11.

Working with a foundation of Brown, Quick and Anze Kopitar, Kings GM Dean Lombardi — who played hockey briefly at Elmira College — built a two-time Stanley Cup champ with staying power. Is there hope for the Sabres, who have launched a new era under GM Tim Murray?

"There is," said Nickson, a member of the Frontier Field Walk of Fame who has called 3,500 games in his career. "Patience is certainly a virtue. They had a plan here and stuck to it to a T. I know Buffalo has all those draft picks and young players on the roster now. If they hit a home run with a few, those are the building blocks and you add some pieces and all of sudden you're a fun team to watch every night."

All of a sudden, Nickson's Sabres' colleague Rick Jeanneret is making a signature Stanley Cup call. He's only been thinking about his for 43 years. Yes, patience is a virtue.